


Morning

by Lonewritersclub



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Basically, Bat Family, Batjokes, Confusion, Drabble, Easter, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Memory Loss, Mental Health Issues, Sad, amnesia joker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 10:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13479468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonewritersclub/pseuds/Lonewritersclub
Summary: The whole Batfamily is there.Joker too.It's Easter and there are chocolate eggs.But all is not good.





	Morning

They are in the penthouse.

There’s Dick,

Tim,

Stephanie,

Damian,

even good ol’ Jason,

sitting in the lounge by the big tall windows. They are drenched in orange from the sunlight that pours through the slits of the skyscrapers. They gulp down strong morning coffee that Alfred deals to them in copious amounts along with freshly baked scones.

They’ve taken after their father

who sits contently in a sturdy armchair reading the paper,

flipping through the pages over to the sports section away from the depressing foreign news.

There’s a bowl with an arrangement of colourful chocolate eggs and a chocolate bunny in the centre placed on the coffee table next to a delicate vase full of beautiful daffodils.

It’s Easter day.

That morning Joker wakes up late

and does not remember who he is.

He gets up in a bed that isn’t his own,

in a room he doesn’t recognise,

in clothes he doesn’t wear,

with a feeling he doesn’t understand.

Shaky, he tiptoes on cool wooden floors through the bedroom over to the door that’s ajar, but by the full-body mirror he stops dead in his tracks.

His mouth opens up in horror.

What has happened to him?

His skin is white as paper,

his lips as red as dynamite,

but worst of all, his hair is as green as the grass is in Scotland.

Why is it green…

What _has_ _happened_ to him?

Joker gets to the door ready to bolt out of this strange world, when

“morning Jay”

Bruce is there

with a warm, carefree smile as he stands there looking at him, wearing a soft woollen pullover.

And there’s Dick,

Tim,

Stephanie,

Damian,

and even good ol’ Jason,

watching him by the couches and Alfred flooding their cups with coffee. They don’t look surprised nor angry but rather benignly nonchalant by his presence and sip of their drinks slap-happily.

They effortlessly slide back into their conversation and turn away their attention from him.

Joker doesn’t understand.

Is this all just a big joke?

A joke on _him?_

Joker stares at Bruce in shock and sees his smile gradually fall into concern and confusion when he acknowledges Joker’s teary and hurt expression. Blue eyes become sad.

“what’s wrong, baby?”

And suddenly they all turn to look at him again. Joker’s hands tremble. He feels ridiculed. Teary throated he asks,

“why did you dye my hair green?”

Bruce is left without words and can only gape back at Joker in bafflement. Even the coffee quits pouring from Alfred’s porcelain pot. Joker doesn’t like this reaction.

They are all making him out to be a fool.

A dumdum who sees fairies and hears unspoken words of promises and companionship.

A pitiful fool.

Which he is _not_ ,

despite how many times he has been called a clown.

Joker discerns himself from Bruce – He who blocks the way of the potential exit way – and ends up stumbling backwards towards the anonymous lounge area.

There are all the Robins and the faithful butler who’s more or less like a grandfather to all of them. To Joker he’s always been more or less a barricade between him and Bruce. At least at first when the sky was still dark and the air rainy.

There’s a selection of shiny chocolate eggs and a snuggly bunny in the middle next to bright yellow flowers and Joker doesn’t recognise where in time he’s supposed to be in.

He glances over his shoulder to the intimidatingly tall windows sheltering them from the rest of the busy busy world down below, and bites his tongue not to overreact and possibly scream.

They are so very very high.

Bruce starts walking towards him. They are all following him closely with their intruding perceptive eyes ever trained to the smallest details. Taking after their father.

“master J?” the butler says worriedly as he straightens his back from having poured coffee for Steph. Joker looks at him in plain confusion.

“what’s going on?” Joker asks, a question directed to no one in particular but everyone. He gazes over his shoulder again, careful not to lean too much on the thin looking glass.

No one says a word in response but in the meantime Bruce has managed to close in on his person. Joker slides away in reaction and hastily looks for the main exit.

“let’s sit down, Jay”, Bruce says. Joker heads for the kitchen door where Alfred seems to have come through. Bruce slowly closes in further hands visible at all times.

That doesn’t really comfort Joker.

Shaky legs tap his bare feet against the cool wooden ground as he hurriedly pads towards the door taking a route that’s as far away from the others as possible.

Oh no, he hears Bruce’s steps following…

Quiet mumbling from the others…

Alfred’s coffee pot clinks…

There’s the door!

bright red and tall

… and an arm around his chest and a hand over his forehead. He’s pulled back towards hot and big,

and woollen arms hug him close.

“it’s okay. it’s okay.” Joker breathes harshly, ready to bite maybe, ready to fight. His fingers want to curl up and knuckles bleed if needed. “let’s go sit down for a bit.”

panting and frowning,

Joker doesn’t understand…

… why Bruce smells so good…

He’s sat down, tucked beside Bruce’s overwhelming warmth, and orange tea is poured into his cup, Alfred curtly saying “no caffeine for now”.

The light has turned yellow and sheer. Bruce holds him by the arm and whispers into his ear when he keeps staring at the others with suspicion in his teeth.

“this is temporary. it’s just a small side effect”, he tells him like it's comforting. Joker looks to him with brows at a worried frown.

“from what?”

“from yesterday’s TMS. they said this might happen, baby. it’ll pass.”

Bruce looks at him with assuring gentle eyes and rubs his arm like it’s nothing. Joker gapes at him.

He doesn’t follow.

Bruce stills smiles as he turns his gaze away from him, and joins in listening to the on-going conversation that Joker doesn't understand. He wonders.

Is he truly a fool?

Is it really that simple…

Just another electrocution and his brain gone fried chicken, quick and delicious for others to enjoy, although never good for anyone’s health.

His hair is green...

_Why is his hair green?_

 

It’s Easter and the kids start unwrapping the chocolate eggs slightly melted from the sunlight.

Jason cracks open the bunny, twists its sweet little head off, and offers it to

Joker

and Joker has to take it with quivering pale pale fingers and proceeds to hold it wordlessly. Bruce sips on black coffee and starts reading the paper again carefree and happy.

The chocolate melts in Joker’s hand. Muted by his foolishness,

he stares at the thin glass

and fears the windows might break if he ended up running towards them.

But Bruce would probably catch him.

And Alfred would pour him more tea.

And Dick,

Tim,

Stephanie,

Damian,

even good ol’ Jason,

would keep talking without him listening, and only stare at him with intense eyes

as he would fall and be saved by the Batman         without a single worry spared for his   mind.

They’ve really taken after their father.

**Author's Note:**

> Well then. This took a turn for the dark side pretty suddenly.  
> Yeah, no idea what happened with that but hope you liked it anyway. I would really love to hear your "analysis" on it if you have one, because this was a bit of a weird one.  
> But thanks for reading!


End file.
